Recreational Water Monitoring Program
Science for Our Coast
With the mantra of ”Science for Our Coast" making up Pontchartrain Conservancy's mission, it is clear that Lake Pontchartrain’s water quality is at the forefront of the organization's scientific endeavors. In 1989, the year of Pontchartrain Conservancy's (formally Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation) creation, the lake and many north shore rivers were closed to swimming due to contamination with fecal coliform bacteria. Pontchartrain Conservancy started tackling this issue immediately with water quality monitoring in Lake Pontchartrain and investigations into pollution sources.
On the south shore, it soon became apparent that much of the bacteria entering the lake came from broken pipes in Orleans and Jefferson Parishes sewer systems. PC began to work with the parishes to clean up these sources. By 2000, water quality monitoring indicated that we were having success and the Lake’s bacteria level was dropping, particularly on the south shore.
In contrast to the health of Lake Pontchartrain, data has shown that waterways on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain (including St. Tammany and Tangipahoa Parishes) are being degraded due to rapid development and the inconsistent sewage treatment associated with it. This is discussed more under the Sub-Basin Pollution Source Tracking Program.
Pontchartrain Conservancy samples twelve recreational sites on a weekly basis utilizing EPA-approved methods. The sites are each tested for the physiochemical parameters of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity, conductivity, and Secchi Disk clarity. All physiochemical parameters are sampled three times and averaged for a daily value and for quality control purposes. To test the safety of the water for recreation, PC samples three bacteria that are indicators of contamination with waste, Fecal Coliform, Enterococcus, and E.Coli. "Grab” samples of 100 ml volume are collected at each site in sterile containers and taken to local EPA-approved laboratory for analysis within six hours of collection.
To document the Lake’s water quality and encourage people to return to the lake, PC started the “Basin-Wide Water Quality Monitoring Program” in 2001. In this program we perform weekly water quality monitoring at ten recreational sites around Lake Pontchartrain. The program has three goals:
- Disseminate water quality information to the public on a weekly basis;
- Identify sources that contribute to the pollution of the lake;
- Share data with researchers, citizen, students, and local, state, and federal agencies
Lake and Coast App
Pontchartrain Conservancy is proud to announce the release of Water Quality's very own water quality results app: Lake and Coast! Released on both Apple and Android systems in August 2021, the app presents our Recreational Water Monitoring Program's weekly water quality results (as seen here). Download the app from your smart device's app store now!
Finally, the data is shared with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and parish and municipal governments for inclusion in the EPA’s Impaired Waterbodies List and other projects with the ultimate intent of removing waterbodies from the Impaired List.